Chapter Thirty-Nine
Nova
“The best part about alchemy is that there are rules. Steps. Guidelines. I wish life was like that.”
Commander Maitoza was livid. I had never seen her so angry. Or angry at all, really. But when she saw the cores at our sides, she looked downright lethal. Nervous now, I stepped forward, waving at her. She stalked our way on thudding, angry steps, her hair flowing behind her as she marched.
“Tell me you didn’t go behind my back and bring more core family members into my rebellion.” Was there something beyond livid? Irate maybe?
“Well, you see—”
“No! I don’t see! You had no right!”
“Don’t speak to her like that,” Azazel cut in, stepping around me to point in the commander’s face.
She smacked his hand, pressing her chest into his. “I will speak to insubordinates in the way they’ve earned, Azazel! And Desi!”
Desi yelped at my side, her eyes falling to the ground.
“Your father promised me that in return for my silence, you’d help this movement. Is this helping?” Commander Maitoza gestured to the three cores and Zura, a disgusted sneer on her face.
“Commander, it wasn’t her fault. It was my plan!” I insisted. She turned back to me, her eyes blazing.
“Yes, it is your fault. And don’t think I haven’t noticed your eyes. Care to explain that?”
“She doesn’t have to explain anything to you,” Az cut in again. I grabbed his hand, trying to pull him to my side. Slowly, he stepped back, returning to his spot next to me.
“Again, I am the commander of these forces. I will not tolerate such disrespect and defiance. Not only did you skip training yesterday, but you went behind my back to bring potential spies onto our base!”
“They are willing to help us,” I said. “Isn’t more help a good thing?”
“We don’t need more cores! The numbers are already against us!” She reared back suddenly, as if her own words smacked her in the face. Around us, rebels stared. No one had begun training, too interested in our shouting match to start.
Commander Maitoza seemed to become aware of the watching eyes, heaving in deep breaths before straightening her back and dusting off her pristine jacket.
“You know what? How about all of you meet with me at fifteen hundred tomorrow? We can discuss this in a more appropriate manner then. For now, go ahead and train.” With that, she turned and walked away, her steps lighter now that she was consciously putting on her calm facade.
“Did you catch that?” Az whispered to me, bending low.
I nodded. “The numbers are already against us. Sounds to me like whatever ulterior motive she has is contingent on how many shaytan are in the rebellion.”
“Are we really going to sit here and let her talk to us like that?” Otarn asked from behind me.
Looking over my shoulder, I said, “For now we don’t have a choice, but I’ve got an idea. First, training. Otarn, Dofrel, and Elders with Azazel. Zura, you come with me. Desi, you go ahead and continue on as you always would.”
We split up, Zura looking terrified as we moved through each part of training. With every stretch, punch, swipe, and run, I plotted.
***
“Here’s the thing,” I said, my breaths coming in heavy pants. I gulped down a cup of water, trying to speak through the pain. “The commander tells us only what we want or need to hear. She’s very reluctant to divulge anything beyond her primary plan.”
“Which is taking down the core families,” Azazel added. “What she wants aside from that has evaded us for a while. But what she said on the training field was a slip from her normal passive reluctance.”
The others stared at us from their places throughout Az’s cottage.
“Exactly. Now, we know she has an office. According to Desi, it’s in the same building that all meetings are conducted in. Az and I have been in there enough times that we pretty much know where it will be.”
“Pretty much is a gamble,” Elders noted.
“It is, but I think it’s a necessary one.” Az’s voice was sure and strong, clearly settling Elders as he relaxed back into the sofa. “Our biggest obstacle will be keeping Commander Psycho away from her office long enough.”
“We could do it while she’s in a meeting,” Caleb said. “Don’t important people have meetings all the time?”
“Or when she’s away?” Zura added from his side.
“Too risky. She could come back at any time and we don’t know her schedule,” Az said.
That was when it hit me. “Senna.”
Five sets of eyes landed on me.
“Who?” Elders asked.
“Not who. What,” Zura said excitedly. “Do you have some?”
Smiling, I crossed my arms. “I grow it outside in my garden. Took me forever to dig it up and replant it.”
“Wait, what’s going on? Speak full sentences,” Otarn cut in.
“They’re going to make the commander shit herself,” Cal answered, grinning from ear to ear.
“Senna is a flower that can be brewed into a powerful laxative. It’s used to help with constipation.
We sold it as a powder in my family’s apothecary.
” Everyone continued to stare at me, listening intently.
I spoke each idea as I thought it, the plan coming together quickly.
“I’ve seen the commander drinking tea before.
Senna can be added to a liquid and it will dissolve.
It does have an earthy sort of taste, but if her tea is strong enough she shouldn’t be able to tell.
It’s only a matter of slipping it into her cup.
From there, we’ll have enough time to get in her office, figure out what she’s up to, and get out. ”
“We’re going to poison her?” Elders asked, his brows raised. He’d grown out his stubble and his hair, sporting a full beard and a bit of tightly coiled hair. He looked even more stoic that way, like he saw the world through too-knowing eyes.
“Poison is a strong word. She’ll be fine after a few hours in the bathroom. I grow a direct source, so we can decide how potent it is.”
“So then how do we get senna in her tea?” Otarn asked.
At my side, Azazel uncrossed his arms and summoned something within his shadows. He was writing in his journal before I even realized what had appeared.
“Az?”
“Do you know how long I’ve been watching her?
Months. I haven’t trusted her since the day I met her.
That woman is very particular about the facade she puts on so that no one else sees what I see.
She’s meticulous in how she presents herself.
” Words poured out of him as he scribbled across the page.
“Because of that, she moves in patterns. Routines. Meetings, I know nothing about. But her public appearances? Those I know.”
“Where are you going with this?” Otarn asked, standing up and walking towards us. She placed her hands on her hips, peeking at the pages.
“The commander has her tea every morning during training. She never leads the exercises, but she always shows up at the start. Her mug is already in her hands at that point. She speaks to the group, then to the training leaders. From there, she’ll talk to Desi and—” he cut himself off, his eyes wandering to me.
I scrunched my brows, unsure what he was insinuating.
“Sorry, no, that person is on a mission. Okay, after Desi is when she usually leaves. Sometimes she’ll say hi to random rebels, or even come bother me. But that’s less predictable.”
Turning his hand, he faced the pages towards me. There, written in quick, swooping script, was Maitoza’s entire morning schedule. Get tea from cafeteria. Walk to training field. Speak to Soren. Speak to Aldera. And so on and so forth.
Az had memorized it all.
“Perfect.” I beamed as I took the journal, noticing how Azazel seemed to flinch when it left his hands. “I won’t read anything else, I swear.”
Nodding, he leaned in and grabbed one of my curls, twirling it around his long finger. I caught sight of his snake ring, smiling at the memory of the morning before.
“Okay, looks like we all have some work to do then. Who’s ready?” Zura and all three cores nodded Az’s way, earning a sharp, wicked smile from him. “Operation Commander Shits-A-Lot is a go.”
***
“Commander!” I shouted, waving her way. She turned, raising a brow as she caught sight of me.
This was going to be so much harder without the stars as a direct incentive. I could already tell she liked me significantly less. Despite her clear distaste, she did pivot and head my way, her chin high and tea tightly gripped in her hand. Hopefully flattery worked on her.
“Nova, what a pleasure it is to see you this morning.” Liar. “What can I do for you?”
“Actually, I wanted to talk with you about the stars.”
“Oh. Is this about your eyes?”
“Yes, actually. You see, I had a bit of a falling out with the stars and they’re being quite…
stubborn.” A gasp slipped from between her lips, her dark eyes flitting to the sky as if in penance for hearing me say such a thing.
“No disrespect meant, of course. It’s just that I’m struggling with convincing them to speak to me again.
I was hoping your expertise would guide me here. I’m sort of desperate at this point.”
Beaming, she nodded. “I’d love to help you, Nova. My admiration and love for the stars was what led me to being so interested in speaking with you. I know I was pushy, but it was just to make sure they supported our cause.”
“You don’t have to explain. I’m just grateful you’re willing to help. I really am sorry for bringing in the other cores without your approval. I swear, I did speak with the stars about it. I didn’t do it on a whim.”
“Well, that is something we can discuss later. For now, I do have quite a lot of information I can share about the stars.”
“Is there somewhere more private we can sit? If I’m being honest, I’m…embarrassed.”
“Oh, Nova. There is nothing to be embarrassed about. It can’t be easy being chosen by our celestial rulers.
” She placed her free hand on my back, gesturing with her mug towards a patch of trees nearby.
Smiling, I let her lead me, sitting beside her on the icy ground, our breath visible in the frigid air.
In my pocket, the senna powder waited.
“Now, here’s what I’m thinking. In the past, the stars have given people divine messages.
These can come in many different forms, but it is most common in suffering.
When one suffers, it is a sign that the stars do not like the path the person is taking.
Altering your path can change everything.
Perhaps this punishment is actually due to them not supporting whatever path you’re presently on. ”
She was so deluded that I could tell she actually believed that. That any form of punishment was for our own good and not the stars’ entertainment. Maybe they were being honest and they’d truly change, but even if they did, our suffering would never benefit us.
“That makes sense. How do I know which path is the right one? How do I know what they want when they won’t speak to me?” I added a bit of a whine to my voice, hoping I sounded hopeless. Like someone who needed guidance.
Just as she was about to talk, Desi shouted our way. “Commander!”
Commander Maitoza looked away just long enough for me to dump the small bag of powder into her tea, stirring it with my finger and wincing at the burn.
“I’m so, so sorry Nova. Can we discuss this later?
It seems Desi needs my attention right now.
” Nodding, I sighed deeply. Her face held a soft smile, the expression seemingly genuine.
Her hand reached out to grip my shoulder, her eyes wide and brows knitted together. “We’re going to figure this out, okay?”
“Okay,” I said. “Thank you.”
“No, thank you for coming to me with this. It means everything to me.”
Smiling, I tapped her hand on my shoulder and stood, dusting off my training leathers. “Better join the others. I’ll see you at fifteen hundred. We can talk after, right?”
As she stood, the commander grabbed her mug, taking a hefty sip before saying, “Of course.”
When I turned, I let my hesitant smile rise into a wicked grin. Show time.
By the time training was over, Desi was called away to help a very sick commander.